Maritime security: AI watchdog Kirmes to hunt saboteurs on the Baltic Sea
How Kirmes works.
(Bild: Fraunhofer CML)
Mobile sensor network by Fraunhofer detects hybrid threats like GPS spoofing and drone espionage in real time directly on the coast.
The Baltic Sea has become the stage for hybrid warfare [1]: manipulated GPS signals, drone flights over shipyards, and destroyed submarine cables threaten maritime infrastructure. Identifying perpetrators often fails due to rigid, incomplete surveillance systems. The Fraunhofer Center for Maritime Logistics and Services (CML) in Hamburg is now countering with “Kirmes.” The system is currently being tested on the Kiel Fjord to detect spies and saboteurs in real time.
Kirmes breaks with the traditional approach of expensive stationary coastal surveillance, as CML explains [2]. Instead of waiting for lengthy approval processes for fixed structures, the team led by research director Maximilian Reimann relies on mobility. The core of the project consists of “Cells on Wheels“: mobile trailers with sensors that form a flexible network together with the research vessel Vektor.
According to an NDR report [3], the system is intended to identify suspicious ship movements. A major advantage: Unlike permanent installations, Kirmes can be put into operation on any coastal section within a few days without lengthy approval procedures.
Intelligent data fusion instead of isolated signals
Technically, Kirmes functions as a digital vacuum cleaner for maritime data. The mobile units capture a variety of signals such as GPS, the AIS identification system, and ADS-B data from aerial objects. Even analog maritime radio traffic is automatically transcribed and analyzed. The breakthrough lies in intelligent integration: an AI merges these sources into a digital image of the maritime situation.
The system is trained to detect anomalies. For example, it recognizes when a ship deactivates its AIS signal or when position data is manipulated by GPS spoofing [4] to conceal its actual location. Such tactics have been repeatedly observed in incidents in the past. For instance, in November 2024, under these circumstances, a Chinese freighter came under suspicion [5] of intentionally destroying a data cable in the Baltic Sea.
According to CMS, this detection allows operational forces to be automatically alerted before physical damage occurs to pipelines or wind farms. The system uses a modular microservice architecture, allowing new analysis algorithms to be added at any time. This is intended to keep the defense flexible against the constantly changing tactics of hybrid attackers.
Fast operational readiness
The test area on the Kiel Fjord, with its high traffic volume, offers ideal conditions for training the algorithms. With a range of up to 30 nautical miles, the system secures large sections of coastal waters. In addition to the police and the Bundeswehr, port operators and energy companies are also expected to benefit from the precise real-time data for threat prevention.
The plan is to complete the test phase by the end of the year. A mobile unit is expected to cost a low six-figure sum. Kirmes could thus offer an efficient response to the Russian shadow fleet and anonymous drones, securing maritime sovereignty digitally and mobilely.
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This article was originally published in German [11]. It was translated with technical assistance and editorially reviewed before publication.
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[1] https://www.heise.de/select/tr/2025/4/2508508230638925726
[2] https://www.cml.fraunhofer.de/de/forschungsprojekte1/kirmes.html
[3] https://www.ndr.de/nachrichten/schleswig-holstein/kuenstliche-intelligenz-wie-die-ostsee-mit-ki-sicherer-werden-soll,schifffahrtsueberwachung-100.html
[4] https://www.heise.de/news/Studie-GPS-Stoerungen-in-der-Ostsee-werden-komplexer-und-staerker-11105066.html?from-en=1
[5] https://www.heise.de/news/Beschaedigte-Unterseekabel-in-der-Ostsee-Chinesisches-Frachtschiff-im-Fokus-10081852.html?from-en=1
[6] https://www.heise.de/newsletter/anmeldung.html?id=ki-update&wt_mc=intern.red.ho.ho_nl_ki.ho.markenbanner.markenbanner
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[11] https://www.heise.de/news/Maritime-Sicherheit-KI-Waechter-Kirmes-soll-Saboteure-auf-der-Ostsee-jagen-11240581.html
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